The Last Waltz

I was only 4 years old when Engelbert Humperdinck hit the charts with ‘The Last Waltz’ in September 1967.

It was a cracking song. Simple lyrics and simple tune, but the sort of lyrics and tune that just stick in your head. 57 years later the lyrics and tune are still in my head, and I was thinking of the chorus’s first line, “I had the last waltz with you”, whilst Kate Broadbent whizzed round the track at Mitcham TeamSport last night. It wasn’t Kate’s last waltz, but it was certainly her last race of the season, her last race of the year. And what a race it was. Less than 1/10th of a second separated the top four drivers, and absolutely everyone was driving super-fast.

Humperdinck sings “The band had only one more song to play”, and Kate had only one more heat to race to take the senior ‘Monday League’ title. And that she did, dropping only 1 point out of a maximum of 120 points across the league’s eight races.

“I fell in love with you”, the second line of the chorus could be Kate describing how she feels about karting and motorsport. 2024 was super exciting, and 2025 looks to be even more exciting with all manner of club and national races planned.

Engelbert Humperdinck, 88 years young

If you don't know the song, and you have no idea who Engelbert Humperdinck is (yes, that really is his stage name), do a seach on YouTube and have a listen. The song ends with the line, “The last waltz should last forever”. Kate needs to bottle up whatever made her fly last night, and make it last forever too.